World War I was fought across a larger area than any previous conflict. Theatres of war ranged from the Middle East to the Western Front, from Russia to the Pacific, the North Sea to the Dardanelles, and from northern Italy to Africa. Each region produced its own unique demands, tactics and conditions of warfare. The common feature across all regions and theatres was the emergence of new technologies.
Unlike earlier wars, World War I was fought across a large part of the world and involved many countries. Britain, France and Russia faced Germany and its allies on the Western Front. Germany also fought against Russia on the Eastern Front. There was fighting in Turkey and the Middle East and in North Africa. There were also small conflicts in the Pacific Ocean, where a combined effort of Japanese and Australian forces took over German colonies in New Guinea. Battles at sea interrupted shipping and trade. War was also fought in the air and under the sea for the first time—terrorising civilian populations.
Unlike earlier wars, World War I was fought across a large part of the world and involved many countries. Britain, France and Russia faced Germany and its allies on the Western Front. Germany also fought against Russia on the Eastern Front. There was fighting in Turkey and the Middle East and in North Africa. There were also small conflicts in the Pacific Ocean, where a combined effort of Japanese and Australian forces took over German colonies in New Guinea. Battles at sea interrupted shipping and trade. War was also fought in the air and under the sea for the first time—terrorising civilian populations.
Where Was WWI Fought?
Map 03: Where was WWI fought?
In World War I, the greatest loss of life was in Europe. Many of the best-known land battles of World War I were played out in an area in France and Belgium known as the Western Front. However, the Eastern Front was also very important, especially in terms of the conflict between Germany and Russia. A third front, along the border between Italy and Austria, was the scene of fierce fighting and great loss of life.
Because so many European nations had large colonial empires, people from all over the world participated in the conflict. Members of the British Commonwealth (such as Australia, India, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand) were involved in the conflict. The war came close to Australia because Germany had colonies in Samoa and New Guinea. As early as August 1914, New Zealand forces occupied German Samoa with no loss of life. Australian forces had driven the Germans out of New Guinea by the end of 1914.
The war also took place in the Middle East. The Gallipoli campaign, for example, was designed to open up access for the Allies. They needed this access in order to get troops and supplies into Russia—to aid the campaign on the Eastern Front. In the end, the Gallipoli campaign was abandoned, but not before the deaths of around 140 000 soldiers from countries including Britain, Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand, India and Turkey. More than half of those killed were from Turkey.
Following the withdrawal from Gallipoli in December 1915, some of the Allied troops, including the Australian Light Horse, were redeployed to Palestine where they and the Arabs fought against the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire.
Japan, a rapidly modernising nation, was also involved on the side of the Triple Entente. In 1914, in response to a request from Britain, Japanese ships led raids on German naval vessels around Chinese waters. The Japanese further provided 17 battleships to assist British naval actions in the Mediterranean and in South Africa. It is interesting that Japan also took advantage of the war situation to extend its power and influence in China.
Quick Questions 04:
- World War I was predominantly a European war. Why were people from so many other parts of the world involved?
- What impact do you think the early Australian and New Zealand successes in the Pacific would have had on attitudes to war?
New Technology
World War I is often referred to as the "first modern war" because it was the first war fought and won with technology. Over the course of the war, many new technologies were introduced, and existing military vehicles and weapons were improved. Developments in powerful, long-range weaponry, such as the machine gun and heavy artillery, were particularly important. Deadly new chemical weapons were also a significant development.
Much of this technology is blamed for extending the war, as the conflict quickly became an evenly matched battle of technology and tactics—with neither side able to break the deadlock. Unlike earlier wars, in which the soldiers moved around constantly to gain an advantage, both sides on the Western Front were forced to dig trenches for protection, bringing the armies to stalemate.
Video 02: Old School Warfare
As recreated in the film The Patriot
Much of this technology is blamed for extending the war, as the conflict quickly became an evenly matched battle of technology and tactics—with neither side able to break the deadlock. Unlike earlier wars, in which the soldiers moved around constantly to gain an advantage, both sides on the Western Front were forced to dig trenches for protection, bringing the armies to stalemate.
Video 02: Old School Warfare
As recreated in the film The Patriot
Video 03: Trench Warfare
As animated in Pivot
Guns and Artillery
Machine guns, which had first been used during the American Civil War, were improved for use in World War I. Many were capable of firing up to 600 rounds of ammunition per minute in short bursts. Facing one machine gun was similar to facing 250 soldiers with rifles. However, the guns often overheated and were heavy and difficult to move through the mud. Nonetheless, they were devastating when used against oncoming troops.
Heavy artillery guns could fire large shells over a long distance, usually projecting them in an arc to land on the target from above. Like machine guns, artillery weapons were heavy and difficult to move. They were usually mounted on wheels that often became bogged down in the mud or got stuck in craters.
Heavy artillery guns could fire large shells over a long distance, usually projecting them in an arc to land on the target from above. Like machine guns, artillery weapons were heavy and difficult to move. They were usually mounted on wheels that often became bogged down in the mud or got stuck in craters.
Gas
In April 1915, Germany introduced poison gas as a weapon of war. Chlorine, which was blown over the enemy trenches, burned and destroyed the respiratory tracts (airways) of anyone without a gas mask, causing terrible pain and death. Other gases were introduced throughout the war, including mustard and tear gas. Poison-gas attacks were so horrific that their use was banned in 1925 under the Geneva Protocol.
Tanks
The British army introduced the first tanks into the war in September 1916 at the Battle of the Somme. While they were successful at overcoming barbed wire obstacles and trenches, the mechanical unreliability of these early tanks limited their impact. They had been rushed into production and frequently broke down or became stuck in muddy ditches. The crews inside the tanks had to endure unbearably hot and noisy conditions, almost constantly choking on the fumes inside the cab. By the end of 1917, improvements in tank technology and tactics meant that tanks were becoming more effective.
Aircraft
Large-scale aerial warfare was conducted for the first time during World War I. At first, small planes were used to scout enemy positions. Later, planes armed with machine guns were used in aerial combats, known as dogfights.
Huge airships called zeppelins, named for their inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, were used by the Germans in the first air raid over England in January 1915. Made of a cylindrical metal frame covered with fabric and filled with gasbags, a zeppelin was able to fly higher than conventional aircraft and drift almost silently over its targets. This made zeppelins difficult to fight against with normal anti-aircraft weaponry. The zeppelins’ ability to hit their targets accurately was poor though, and they were also vulnerable to strong winds that could blow them off course. Towards the end of the war, zeppelins were largely replaced by multi-engine bomber planes, such as the Gotha G.V. Britain responded with its equivalent, the Handley Page Type O bomber.
Video 04: Another Problem with the Zeppelin
Huge airships called zeppelins, named for their inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, were used by the Germans in the first air raid over England in January 1915. Made of a cylindrical metal frame covered with fabric and filled with gasbags, a zeppelin was able to fly higher than conventional aircraft and drift almost silently over its targets. This made zeppelins difficult to fight against with normal anti-aircraft weaponry. The zeppelins’ ability to hit their targets accurately was poor though, and they were also vulnerable to strong winds that could blow them off course. Towards the end of the war, zeppelins were largely replaced by multi-engine bomber planes, such as the Gotha G.V. Britain responded with its equivalent, the Handley Page Type O bomber.
Video 04: Another Problem with the Zeppelin
Communications
Advances in communication allowed faster contact between commanding field officers behind the front and soldiers at the front line. The development of telephone and wireless (radio) systems allowed instant front-line reports and quick decisions. However, phone lines, which had to be laid in each new location, were easily damaged by the artillery, and the wireless radios were heavy and difficult to move. Despite the increasing use of these new technologies, soldiers still acted as runners to relay information. Motorbike couriers, carrier pigeons and even dogs were used at times.
Video 05: New Technologies
Video 05: New Technologies
Quick Questions 05:
- Identify three ways in which World War I was different from preceding wars.
- Did new developments in technology actually extend the war?
- Why do you think that the use of poison gas was banned under the Geneva Protocol while the use of other types of weapons was not?
- What were the advantages and disadvantages of new developments in communications?
Trench Warfare
The trenches along the Western Front were approximately 700 kilometres long, stretching from the coast of Belgium to the border of Switzerland (almost the distance from Melbourne to Sydney). In most cases, trenches were two metres deep bytwo metres wide.
Life in the trenches along theWestern Front could vary quite a lot, but for most soldiers conditions were appalling. During the winter months, rainfall turned the low-lying trenches into mud pits. In some cases the water reached waist height, leading to condition called trench foot, which caused the feet to rot. During the summer months, rats, lice and flies infested the trenches. The rats could grow to the size of cats, feeding off men’s rations and the constant supply of rotting bodies.
Life in the trenches along theWestern Front could vary quite a lot, but for most soldiers conditions were appalling. During the winter months, rainfall turned the low-lying trenches into mud pits. In some cases the water reached waist height, leading to condition called trench foot, which caused the feet to rot. During the summer months, rats, lice and flies infested the trenches. The rats could grow to the size of cats, feeding off men’s rations and the constant supply of rotting bodies.
Diagram 01: Unlike previous wars, fighting on the Western Front was characterised by 'trench warfare'. Each side had developed an elaborate system of reserve and support trenches with the opposing front lines separated by an area called 'no-man’s land'.
The trenches that soldiers dug during World War I were typically around two metres deep by two metres wide. On both sides, conditions were barbaric, although German trenches tended to be better engineered and more comfortable than the French and British equivalents. To avoid snipers (marksmen trained to ‘pick off’ enemy soldiers from concealed locations), soldiers spent most of the daylight hours under the trench line—most attacks took place at dusk or in the early morning when visibility was poor. Soldiers were often bored during the day, and caught brief moments of sleep where they could. Those falling asleep on watch could be severely punished.
The soldiers had to share the trenches with millions of rats that fed on the remains of dead soldiers left on the battlefields. With so much available food, some rats grew to be as large as cats. They bred constantly and spread disease as they ran over the faces of the sleeping soldiers.
Lice were also constant companions that lived and laid eggs in the seams of the soldiers’ uniforms. The troops were often unable to bathe or change their clothes for weeks at a time. Even when washed, it was almost impossible to rid clothes of the lice eggs. Lice were responsible for the spread of ‘trench fever’. If soldiers were fortunate enough to end up in military hospital, it took them up to 12 weeks to recover from this painful illness. As the war continued, delousing stations were built behind the trench lines.
Relentless rain turned the trenches to canals of stagnant mud. Trench foot, acquired from standing for long periods in wet, muddy conditions, was a fungal infection that caused swelling. Serious cases could result in amputation.
The winter of 1916 was one of the harshest on the Western Front. The cold was so intense that water was carried to the troops as blocks of ice. Boiled water would develop a crust of ice after only a minute or two. Soldiers slept huddled together for warmth under their quota of two blankets each.
Adding to the smell of death and decay that hung over the trenches was a variety of other sickening odours. The smell of unwashed soldiers and overflowing latrines (toilets) mixed with the remains of poison gases, cigarette smoke and a variety of food smells was so intense that new arrivals were often physically sick.
John Alexander Raws was a South Australian soldier who spent only four weeks on the Western Front before he was killed in shelling on 23 August 1916. He wrote to his family, describing conditions in the trenches:
The soldiers had to share the trenches with millions of rats that fed on the remains of dead soldiers left on the battlefields. With so much available food, some rats grew to be as large as cats. They bred constantly and spread disease as they ran over the faces of the sleeping soldiers.
Lice were also constant companions that lived and laid eggs in the seams of the soldiers’ uniforms. The troops were often unable to bathe or change their clothes for weeks at a time. Even when washed, it was almost impossible to rid clothes of the lice eggs. Lice were responsible for the spread of ‘trench fever’. If soldiers were fortunate enough to end up in military hospital, it took them up to 12 weeks to recover from this painful illness. As the war continued, delousing stations were built behind the trench lines.
Relentless rain turned the trenches to canals of stagnant mud. Trench foot, acquired from standing for long periods in wet, muddy conditions, was a fungal infection that caused swelling. Serious cases could result in amputation.
The winter of 1916 was one of the harshest on the Western Front. The cold was so intense that water was carried to the troops as blocks of ice. Boiled water would develop a crust of ice after only a minute or two. Soldiers slept huddled together for warmth under their quota of two blankets each.
Adding to the smell of death and decay that hung over the trenches was a variety of other sickening odours. The smell of unwashed soldiers and overflowing latrines (toilets) mixed with the remains of poison gases, cigarette smoke and a variety of food smells was so intense that new arrivals were often physically sick.
John Alexander Raws was a South Australian soldier who spent only four weeks on the Western Front before he was killed in shelling on 23 August 1916. He wrote to his family, describing conditions in the trenches:
"We are lousy, stinking, ragged, unshaven, sleepless. Even when we’re back a bit we can’t sleep for our own guns. I have one puttee [fabric strip wound around the lower leg for protection], a dead man’s helmet, another dead man’s gas protector, a dead man’s bayonet. My tunic is rotten with other men’s blood and partly splattered with a comrade’s brains. It is horrible but why should you people at home not know."
Video 06: Trench Warfare
As depicted in All Quiet on the Western Front
As depicted in All Quiet on the Western Front
Quick Questions 06:
Task 05:
Take on the role of a relative of John Alexander Raws. Write a letter to him commenting on the horror of his experiences but also attempting to boost his spirits and spur him on to continue the fight.
- Identify and list some features of life in the trenches.
- Why do you think John Alexander Raws felt that people at home should know what he was going through?What impact do you think these letters would have had on the views of war at home? Suggest several responses.
- Suggest one reason why it was good that soldiers such as John Alexander Raws wrote to family about the real horrors of war, and one reason why it was not.
- Identify as many factors as possible that made life in the trenches hard for soldiers. Of these factors, which do you think would be the most difficult to tolerate. Give reasons for your answer.
Task 05:
Take on the role of a relative of John Alexander Raws. Write a letter to him commenting on the horror of his experiences but also attempting to boost his spirits and spur him on to continue the fight.
The Western Front
During World War I the fighting that took place along the Western Front through France and Belgium was the most destructive and enduring of all of the theatres of war during World War I.
At the start of the war, in August 1914, the Germans had marched through Belgium into France. Fierce resistance from the British and French stopped them from moving further into France. However, the Allies were unable to drive the Germans back. By Christmas 1914, there was a deadlock. The Germans and the Allies faced each other across a line of trenches that stretched from Ostend on the Belgian coast in a south-easterly direction to the Swiss border.
At the start of the war, in August 1914, the Germans had marched through Belgium into France. Fierce resistance from the British and French stopped them from moving further into France. However, the Allies were unable to drive the Germans back. By Christmas 1914, there was a deadlock. The Germans and the Allies faced each other across a line of trenches that stretched from Ostend on the Belgian coast in a south-easterly direction to the Swiss border.
Map 04: The Western Front 1915
The Western Front is seen by many historians as the defining experience of World War I. New weapons, such as gas and tanks, were introduced there. Defensive tactics using machine guns, trenches, barbed wire and artillery meant that rather than a rapid war of movement, war on the Western Front became bogged down in a senseless series of attacks and counter-attacks, each achieving little but costing millions of lives.
Breaking the Stalemate
Between 1915 and 1918, many attempts were made to break the stalemate of trench conflict. These attempts tended to follow a pattern. Initially there would be a long and sustained artillery attack—opposing trenches would be bombarded with explosive shells. These attacks could go on for a few hours or sometimes for many days. It was believed that this would force the defending troops underground, destroying their fortifications and clearing the way for troops to cross no man’s land (the narrow strip of land between opposing trenches that belonged to neither army).
Weighed down with heavy equipment, soldiers would cross the strip of territory to their opponent’s trenches. Struggling through mud-filled shell holes created by their own artillery, they might learn that the bombardment had not destroyed the barbed-wire obstacles between the lines. More frightening still was the possibility that the artillery attack had failed to destroy the enemy’s position. Often, as attacking soldiers made their way across no man’s land, the enemy would emerge from deep bunkers to fire on them with machine guns.
Generally, such assaults on enemy trenches failed to achieve their goals. Confusion, smoke, noise and death turned plans into chaos. If attackers reached enemy lines, hand-to-hand (or one-on-one) combat with rifles, bayonets, pistols and grenades often followed. If ground was gained, it could be retaken in a counter-offensive only weeks later. The only real consequence of most of the battles that took place on the Western Front over four years was death and injury.
Breaking the Stalemate
Between 1915 and 1918, many attempts were made to break the stalemate of trench conflict. These attempts tended to follow a pattern. Initially there would be a long and sustained artillery attack—opposing trenches would be bombarded with explosive shells. These attacks could go on for a few hours or sometimes for many days. It was believed that this would force the defending troops underground, destroying their fortifications and clearing the way for troops to cross no man’s land (the narrow strip of land between opposing trenches that belonged to neither army).
Weighed down with heavy equipment, soldiers would cross the strip of territory to their opponent’s trenches. Struggling through mud-filled shell holes created by their own artillery, they might learn that the bombardment had not destroyed the barbed-wire obstacles between the lines. More frightening still was the possibility that the artillery attack had failed to destroy the enemy’s position. Often, as attacking soldiers made their way across no man’s land, the enemy would emerge from deep bunkers to fire on them with machine guns.
Generally, such assaults on enemy trenches failed to achieve their goals. Confusion, smoke, noise and death turned plans into chaos. If attackers reached enemy lines, hand-to-hand (or one-on-one) combat with rifles, bayonets, pistols and grenades often followed. If ground was gained, it could be retaken in a counter-offensive only weeks later. The only real consequence of most of the battles that took place on the Western Front over four years was death and injury.
The Somme
The first Battle of the Somme (an area along the banks of the Somme River) was one of the most costly attempts to break the stalemate of the trenches. Between July and November 1916, the Allied forces tried to break through German lines. Focused on a 19-kilometre front in northern France, the soldiers managed to push the Germans back by about eight kilometres. These gains came at an enormous price. The initial ‘softening up’ bombardment used over 1.5 million shells in a week-long attack. British deaths on the first day of the assault are estimated at over 19 000. Thirty-five thousand were injured and 2000 were counted as missing. French casualties for the first day alone were around 7000.
Later in the Somme campaign, Australian and New Zealand troops fought at Pozières from 23 July to 8 August 1916. After making early gains, Australia suffered over 23 000 casualties. By the end of the Somme campaign, casualty figures for the Allies were around 620 000 dead and wounded, and 500 000 for the Germans.
Video 07: The Somme
Later in the Somme campaign, Australian and New Zealand troops fought at Pozières from 23 July to 8 August 1916. After making early gains, Australia suffered over 23 000 casualties. By the end of the Somme campaign, casualty figures for the Allies were around 620 000 dead and wounded, and 500 000 for the Germans.
Video 07: The Somme
Quick Questions 07:
Task 06:
Re-read ‘Breaking the Stalemate’. Use the material to write a poem about the futility of war.
- In your own words, define the Western Front.
- Why had the war become ‘bogged down’ on the Western Front by the end of 1914?
- What can you learn about the resources and tactics of the two sides from the fact that there was a stalemate along the Western Front for four years?
- Why is the first Battle of the Somme regarded as one of the most disastrous battles of the war?
- When it was obvious that little or nothing was gained through repeated assaults on enemy trenches, why do you think military commanders continued to order these assaults?
- Despite their knowledge of terrible loss of life and injury, soldiers continued to take part in these assaults on the Western Front. Suggest three reasons why they did so.
Task 06:
Re-read ‘Breaking the Stalemate’. Use the material to write a poem about the futility of war.
Nurses
At the start of the war, a small number of women wanted to join the services but were told that war was ‘no place for ladies’. The only women allowed to enlist and serve overseas were nurses.
The nurses worked under appalling conditions, especially on the Western Front where makeshift field hospitals were set up often in trenches behind the lines. The nurses became known as ‘the roses of no man’s land’.
Over the course of World War I, 2562 Australian nurses joined the AIF as members of the medical units. Out of this number, 2139 served overseas in the Middle East and on the Western Front. Twenty-five women lost their lives while serving overseas and 388 received military honours.
Sister Kelly, an Australian nurse in France described her experiences when a bomb hit a casualty clearing station behind the lines:
The nurses worked under appalling conditions, especially on the Western Front where makeshift field hospitals were set up often in trenches behind the lines. The nurses became known as ‘the roses of no man’s land’.
Over the course of World War I, 2562 Australian nurses joined the AIF as members of the medical units. Out of this number, 2139 served overseas in the Middle East and on the Western Front. Twenty-five women lost their lives while serving overseas and 388 received military honours.
Sister Kelly, an Australian nurse in France described her experiences when a bomb hit a casualty clearing station behind the lines:
"I cannot remember what came next, or what I did, except that I kept calling for the orderly to help me and thought he was funking [showing cowardice], but the poor boy had been blown to bits. Somebody got the tent up, and when I got to the delirious pneumonia patient, he was crouched on the ground at the back of the stretcher. He took no notice of me when I asked him to return to bed, so I leaned across the stretcher and put one arm around and tried to lift him in. I had my right arm under a leg, which I thought was his, but when I lifted I found to my horror that it was a loose leg with a boot and a puttee on it. It was one of the orderly’s legs which had been blown off and had landed on the patient’s bed. The next day they found the trunk about 20 yards away."
Quick Questions 08:
- What qualities did nurses need to possess in order to do their jobs successfully under such difficult circumstances?
- Why do you think that women were excluded from the armed services but were encouraged to join as nurses?
War at Sea
In 1914, the sea was vital for transportation, trade and communications. Protecting one’s own sea lanes—or striking at those of the enemy—was an essential part of the war effort.
Because the main fleets of Britain and Germany were considered vital to any sea campaign, both nations were unwilling to use them in a large naval battle unless absolutely necessary. As a result, the only major sea battle of any importance between Britain and Germany was fought at Jutland in 1916. Although both sides claimed victory, most historians believe the British triumphed. After this, German ships were largely restricted to harbour defence.
Submarines were an alarming new weapon used during World War I. They were first used by the Germans to attack and sink merchant ships. They were commonly referred to as U-boats (Unterseeboote) and were able to limit the transportation of imported food and vital goods between allied countries. The involvement of the USA in World War I was a direct result of Germany’s U-boat campaign.
Another naval tactic that reduced the ability of ships to carry soldiers and supplies, was the laying of underwater mines (explosives) in the North Sea. Although agreements had been made regarding where mines could be placed, neither side was very strict in following them. Mines made the North Sea a very dangerous place for ships. This was also a problem for the neutral nations of Norway and Sweden, which were heavily reliant on the North Sea for their trade with the rest of the world.
Quick Questions 09:
Because the main fleets of Britain and Germany were considered vital to any sea campaign, both nations were unwilling to use them in a large naval battle unless absolutely necessary. As a result, the only major sea battle of any importance between Britain and Germany was fought at Jutland in 1916. Although both sides claimed victory, most historians believe the British triumphed. After this, German ships were largely restricted to harbour defence.
Submarines were an alarming new weapon used during World War I. They were first used by the Germans to attack and sink merchant ships. They were commonly referred to as U-boats (Unterseeboote) and were able to limit the transportation of imported food and vital goods between allied countries. The involvement of the USA in World War I was a direct result of Germany’s U-boat campaign.
Another naval tactic that reduced the ability of ships to carry soldiers and supplies, was the laying of underwater mines (explosives) in the North Sea. Although agreements had been made regarding where mines could be placed, neither side was very strict in following them. Mines made the North Sea a very dangerous place for ships. This was also a problem for the neutral nations of Norway and Sweden, which were heavily reliant on the North Sea for their trade with the rest of the world.
Quick Questions 09:
- In what ways did submarines change the way in which World War I was fought?
America Enters the War
At the start of the war, the USA was neutral, but its sympathies definitely lay with the members of the Triple Entente. The USA continued to trade with Britain and, it is believed, to provide indirect support for the war effort.
In an attempt to stop trade across the Atlantic, the Germans began to use submarine warfare. On 7 May 1915, the British passenger ship Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine, killing 1198 passengers. Among the dead were 128 Americans.
Following the sinking of two more British ships carrying American passengers, Germany agreed to stop submarine attacks on ships carrying civilians. This pledge lasted until March 1917—a month in which German submarines sunk more American ships. On 6 April 1917, the USA declared war on Germany.
Another suggested motivation for the USA joining the war was the large amount of money that American bankers had lent to the British and French. It was important that the Triple Entente countries win the war in order for them to pay back the debt to the USA. The addition of thousands of fresh American troops at this crucial point of the war was intended to boost the war effort of the Triple Entente and maximise their chances of winning the war. This is in fact what happened. The American troops were fit and enthusiastic. The USA also supplied extra food, facilities, and money to fund the final months of the campaign.
Quick Questions 10:
In an attempt to stop trade across the Atlantic, the Germans began to use submarine warfare. On 7 May 1915, the British passenger ship Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine, killing 1198 passengers. Among the dead were 128 Americans.
Following the sinking of two more British ships carrying American passengers, Germany agreed to stop submarine attacks on ships carrying civilians. This pledge lasted until March 1917—a month in which German submarines sunk more American ships. On 6 April 1917, the USA declared war on Germany.
Another suggested motivation for the USA joining the war was the large amount of money that American bankers had lent to the British and French. It was important that the Triple Entente countries win the war in order for them to pay back the debt to the USA. The addition of thousands of fresh American troops at this crucial point of the war was intended to boost the war effort of the Triple Entente and maximise their chances of winning the war. This is in fact what happened. The American troops were fit and enthusiastic. The USA also supplied extra food, facilities, and money to fund the final months of the campaign.
Quick Questions 10:
- Identify the main reasons why the USA became involved in World War I. Which do you believe to be the most important? Why?
- Although the United States did not enter the war until April 1917, the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 is often cited as a reason for US involvement. What would you say to someone who said that the sinking of the Lusitania was the event that brought on US involvement?